(Minghui.org) My name is Yoshiko Mochizuki and I am 68 years old. I am a stout person who is believed to be a strong woman. I was born in China into a large, poor family. Under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s education, we went through all sorts of political movements such as the ‘Great Leap Forward’, ‘Three-Anti and Five Anti Campaign’, ‘Rectification Campaign’, ‘Four Cleanups Movement’ and the ‘Cultural Revolution.’

When I was a child, I was ostracized and persecuted due to my poor family background. I also went through the "Down to the Countryside Movement" and factory revolution. At that time, I faced fights and fear every day, feeling as though I was facing danger at all times. Growing up during such a turbulent time, one is helpless no matter how great an aspiration one might have.

I only graduated from junior high school, so I did not have much knowledge or culture, and my poor family background made matters worse. Therefore, when I was looking for a job, no companies dared to hire me. The feeling of being lost and having sadness was really hard and painful. Although the world is so big, there was no road for me to take and no way for me to lead a proper life. I also did not feel any friendliness in people. I did not know why I felt this way.

In order to gain a foothold, I was very serious in my work and was willing to take all sorts of hardships. When there was no nursery, I brought my children with me when I went to work. My husband was not often at home, and I had to do everything at work and at home. Be it cooking meals, carpentry, crafts, working as a teacher, or manager of general affairs, I felt that there was nothing that I could not do. There was a period of time when everybody, including my manager, treated me really well.

However, a few years later, after the manager was changed, I was demoted to become a cleaner. I was indignant about it so I vied and fought back. I even looked up my manager and fought with him. It was really chaotic. Later, the company forced me to quit citing medical conditions as a reason, although I had yet to reach the age of 40. After completing the administrative procedures, I was still feeling indignant about it and thus I told my manager, “I am talented with capabilities. If you do not use me well, I will make good use of my capabilities elsewhere.” With that, I went home.

Making a Stand Despite Suffering Hardship

I had a discussion with my husband about opening a restaurant to show people that I could do it. Therefore, we borrowed money to rent a house and buy a tricycle. We were not afraid of hardships. We built our own restaurant and within a few days, we completed the construction and opened for business. I was very happy that we had our own business. Initially, we started off with only ourselves. Gradually, we hired a chef, then waiters, starting from 2 to 18 in a month. The business was good and we also maintained good relationships with the tax bureau, community, and the police, so we had very strong backings. Our restaurant would be entirely booked by company managers from different areas every day and it later progressed on to become a restaurant during the day and disco at night.

However, the good times did not last long. I often worked long hours. Sometimes, I worked from morning until night and did not take my meals on time. Gradually, due to overwork, my body started giving way but I still worked hard to maintain the business. Finally, one day, I did not have any energy left and went to the hospital. The doctor asked me to go to a bigger hospital as their hospital beds were full. Three hospitals told me the same thing. Actually, I knew deep down that my condition was serious as I had been having bloody stools for a very long time. At that time, I felt that I had suffered too much in this lifetime, and I was finally able to hold my head high and was not looked down on by others. Although it was hard, at least, I had a fruitful life. Yes, it did not really matter to me if I died.

I found the chief of the army hospital and he told me to be hospitalized and not to move from now on. Lying on the bed, I finally admitted that I had been defeated. From that moment, I thought that my life was going to end soon. Facing death at around 40, I looked back at my life. It was a really hard life. Why must a person live so painfully? Why did I suffer so much hardship? Why is my destiny like that? In my lifetime, I managed to gain back my reputation and attained fame and fortune. In the end, what did I have? Only death.

The hardship of the mundane world and the pain from the illnesses all welled up. I felt bitter. I begged the doctor to let me die. He was surprised and asked, “Why? Having been a doctor for so many years, I have never met a patient who wanted to die. All my patients asked me to save them. Why did you say that?” I sincerely told him that I was very tired. My life had already been hard so I just wanted to have a good rest without having any more troubles and hardships in life.

Due to my long-term malnutrition and having bloody stools, I had to have blood transfusions for a week before I could have surgery. Throughout the seven to eight hours of surgery, as I could not have general anesthesia, I was shouting in pain until I had no more energy and voice to do so. After leaving the operating room things really felt so bad that it was worse than death. I did not die, but it was because of all that pain that I was rolling around in bed. I did not know how long had passed before I finally calmed down and saw my children crying in front of me. They said, “Mother why didn’t you tell us. If you were to leave what would happen to us?” Actually, although I had wished to die, what I could not bear to leave behind most was my children. This may be the only thing that I could not let go of and made me go on to live in pain.

During the 26 days in the hospital bed, my son looked after me while sitting on a small stool every day. After getting discharged, four good friends of mine from the company came and carried me back home as I stayed on the fourth floor without any lift. After, I was useless. I needed help to do anything. I felt really sad that such a strong person like me now became like that, but I could only shed tears.

During the period when I was sick, my son was the one who carried me up and down the stairs and looked after me every day. Three months passed and my Japanese visa was approved. However, when my mother-in-law heard about my condition, she did not want to let me go to Japan as she was afraid that I would be spending a load of money and dying there. After finding out about that, my husband told her, “She did not enjoy any bliss in her life after marrying me. I want to let her go and take a look. If things do not work out, I will bring her back.” In the end, my mother-in-law agreed to send us the paperwork and thus, we gave up our properties and everything in China and went abroad to start a new life.

I arrived in Japan on September 6, 1992. When I first saw the land, I felt as though I had arrived at my hometown, which I had not seen for a long time. I felt that this was my true home as it felt so familiar and dear. It just felt so comfortable. When I boarded the electric tram, so many people immediately gave up their seats for me. The people were dressed tidily and they were very courteous. I could not help but fall in love with this country. I thought that I would definitely work hard to contribute to this country once I recovered from my illness.

When I reached home, I collapsed after three days due to the long-distance traveling. I could not eat anything and I reverted back to the ‘sick in pain’ state. A week later, my aunt came to visit me and she asked my mother-in-law to bring me to the Higashi Ginza Cancer Center Hospital to seek help from the ward office.

I Can Eat, Do Housework, and Sleep

Four years passed. At the end of 1997, a friend saw that I was taking medication every day and said, “Go and practice the Falun Dafa exercises. This practice is good.” I said that I did not want to practice as there were many people who visited people at their houses and asked them to join their practice in Japan. My family often told me not to open the door and not to join these groups. Furthermore, apart from watching videos on television, I could not do any other things. Therefore, I rejected my friend’s suggestion many times.

Meeting Up with Dafa

One day, this friend called and asked me to come over to her house for a chat. I went, but people were visiting her house. I immediately wanted to leave and was about to open the door when she asked me not to leave. Then, in front of two people, she said, “You all see, she takes medication every day and is so sick. I asked her to practice the exercises, but she just would not do it.” These people looked at me and I was very embarrassed. I did not want to lose face, and no one had ever talked like that to me. If anyone wanted me to do anything, they would beg me politely. Thus, I was very angry when she treated me like that. I asked her not to carry on talking like that and asked her to show me the thing that she was talking about. She handed me videotapes and The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection, after which I went home, angry. After returning home, I just left the things and lay down, feeling so unhappy about the whole matter.

Life went on as usual until I suddenly remembered this incident. I thought that I might as well take a look before I brought the things back. Upon playing the video, I immediately heard the graceful music which felt so dear. When I saw Master Li Hongzhi (Falun Dafa’s founder) appear, he looked so compassionate, friendly, and respectable, making me feel touched. At that moment, I knew that I could no longer leave this practice. 

Master’s movements were so graceful and they exuded an air of sacredness and mystery, as though it was calling me to get up and do the exercises. I could not help but stand up and follow Master’s verbal instructions to do the exercises. The whole process felt very comfortable and miraculous. I felt very touched and excited at the same time. Although I could not understand why I felt that way, I knew that I really could no longer part from this practice. After practicing the exercises, the graceful music and Master’s voice still lingered in my head for a very long time.

On usual days, I could not sleep well. However that night, I slept soundly that by the time I woke up, the sun was already shining brightly into the house and everyone had already left the house long ago. I looked at the clock and wow, it was already way past 10 a.m. I had not had such a good sleep for a very long time and thought that this practice was amazing. As I thought about the exercise music, I immediately packed up, turned on the video again, and kept doing the exercises, following the music and Master’s instructions. I did not feel tired while doing the exercises.

As the days passed, I felt the turning of the Falun (law wheel) and it felt different every time. That turning felt very subtle. After two months a Falun turned in my stomach even when I was not doing the exercises. I knew then that I had obtained it. Before long, I could eat and do housework. My face also regained a healthy color.

Yoshiko Mochizuki

Then, my family members suddenly realized that I had changed and the house had been cleaned, and changed to neatness and tidiness. My husband asked me what happened and I told him, “I have recovered. From now on, I no longer need to go to the hospital or take any medication. I also do not need all of you to be worried and scared about me anymore as I have recovered.” He was very shocked and asked me why. I told him about Falun Dafa. He was worried that I had joined some religion in Japan and asked immediately what practice it was. He asked to see it, and thus I played the video. He asked if it is from China and I said yes. Then he asked again, “Is this practice really so good? What if it is an evil cult?” I said, “I do not care, I must continue the practice! This is what I want. I will never stop practicing as this is my Master.

Enlightened Many Times In My Dreams to Study the Fa More

As I only did the exercises but did not study the Fa much, I did not understand much despite repeated enlightenment from Master. Once in a dream, I came to a world that was transparent and pure white. It was such a good place. I would often see such scenes in my dreams, and I would even see Master. Whenever I saw these scenes, I would dance in joy and felt so happy.

As I did not study the Fa well, and my thinking could not elevate in level, I could not pass any tribulations or tests. I picked up money when I saw it on the ground and I failed many lust tests. When I fought with others, I would feel very happy when I won the fight. Master enlightened me many times, but I was just too ignorant to understand what Master was telling me.

One day, in a dream, Master came to my house and I was especially happy. I had always wished for Master to come and this wish finally came true. I lived in a secluded mountainside area and there was a heatable brick bed in the house with a table on top of it. Master said that he wanted to see what books I had. However, I had an empty bookshelf that had nothing except the book Zhuan Falun. Master sat on the brick bed and I clearly remembered that I made four small dishes and a bowl of rice for him. I stood on the floor and watched Master eat. After eating, Master said that he wanted to go to the back of the mountain to promote the Fa and he asked if I wanted to join him. I told him that I was not going.

When Master was about to leave, I sent him to the door. When I opened the door, I saw that it was snowing heavily on the opposite side. However, Master still walked on. Suddenly, I saw that Master was not wearing any socks. I was anxious and asked Master to wait for me while I got a pair from the house. I took my brother’s socks and ran out to chase after Master. However, the snow was too heavy and I was so anxious. I walked step by step with great difficulty and I was dead tired. However, no matter how I tried, I just could not find Master. Then, I woke up from the dream with my whole body covered in sweat.

There was another time, I was climbing upwards in my dream, towards a wonderful and pure white place. However, no matter how I climbed, I just could not reach the place. There was a big hand that pulled me upwards but I was just too heavy and I even carried a big bag. No matter how I tried, I just could not reach that place and I ended up so tired that I woke up. I lay in bed and thought about the reason why this happened. Did Master want me to let go of my bag? I need to let go of all my attachments. 

However, how could I gain that understanding if I did not study the Fa well? Later, I thought that if I really could not reach that place, then forget about it. My body had already recovered so I no longer needed to practice Dafa. However, I just could not let go of the practice. I wanted to earn money and contribute to the country. I had my own income and I did not need to let the country contribute so much anymore. However, on the other hand, I felt that this practice is so good. Master, what should I do? Benevolent Master still did not give up on me. He once again enlightened me and I would never forget this time.

In that dream, there was a very big row of bamboo which was like a house amidst the vast sea. There was this column with a lamp on top of it. The bamboo was floating on the turbulent waves of the sea and Master stood in front of me. Besides me, there was a child who was barely one year old. The child just lay down there with his chest facing the floor. There were only the three of us and Master did not move at all. The waves kept hitting the bamboo, making continuous sounds. However, the bamboo resisted the great waves and floated forward. I stood there barefooted and Master stood motionless. No matter how the wind blew or how the waves splashed, he was still motionless. As the waves continued to make sounds, I woke up from the dream. 

My tears flowed. Master was so benevolent, what was I? I was nothing but a small me who had been salvaged by Master from death. I felt guilty for thinking of giving up when I met difficulties. I was sorry for not repaying my gratitude to Master for saving my life. I was really an unworthy disciple of Master as I kept letting him worry. I forgot my words that no matter what, I would never give up. I was really wrong. There is a saying in China, “Teacher for a day is a Father for Life.” Not to mention that Master saved my life. Therefore, I had nothing else to say but to continue with the practice.

I attended the Fa conference in Singapore in 1998 and I saw Master. Master gave a lecture but I did not understand it. I only remembered that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are the great laws of this universe. I also took a photo together with Master. I shouted, “Master, Master!” Master heard it and he turned back to see. However, I could not say anything at that time. No words could describe that kind of feeling as Master said to me compassionately, “...you should read the book more, read the book more,...” (Teachings at the Conference in Switzerland) After that, Master left and I will never forget his tall and benevolent figure.

After Recovery: Determined to Return the Medical Assistance Fund

After returning to Japan from the conference, I thought that I could no longer disappoint Master anymore. I wanted to become Master’s true disciple.

Master said: 

“...Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin) 

I thought that I must return the medical assistance fund back to the country and tell the doctor that I recovered after doing the exercises, so I do not need to come to the hospital anymore. I should also tell all that to the ward office. However, as I did not know how to speak Japanese, I sought help from my little aunt who worked in the community center. My little aunt knew that I recovered after practicing so she agreed immediately when I told her about it. I was very happy.

However, despite going through many troubles, the country still did not agree to let me return the funds saying that this is law so I cannot refuse the funds. My little aunt said, “If you do not want this money, give it to us and we will spend it for you.” I told her that this would not do. I must return the funds as I had already recovered. I must abide by the universe’s highest principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I wanted to really cultivate so I must be able to attain ‘Truthfulness’. Therefore, I must do the refund no matter what. With that, I sought her to help me talk to them again. In the end, my little aunt called me and said that my wish had been fulfilled as the funds had finally been returned.

I am really lucky to become a cultivator of Falun Dafa. I overcame death as Falun Dafa gave me a new lease on life. The hospital had already given me a death sentence when the doctor diagnosed and told me that no matter how I tried, I would not live for more than 5 years. However, as I was lucky to obtain the Fa, this year is already the 24th year since that diagnosis. I am full of energy now. Every day, I practice the exercises in the morning and study the Fa at night. I also promote the Fa and clarify the truth during the day. I want to tell everyone in the world that Falun Dafa is not only a practice to obtain good health, this practice also lets people understand the purpose of living as a human being, which is to return to one’s original, true self.